‘Build a Future’ is a timely theme for National Apprenticeship Week

Next week marks National Apprenticeship Week – the 15th annual week-long celebration starting on 7 February.

This year’s theme of ‘Build a Future’ has really struck a chord with me for a number of reasons. Not only does it reflect how apprenticeships can arm individuals with the skills and knowledge they need to achieve a rewarding career, but, as the Government says itself, it enables businesses to ‘develop a talented workforce that is equipped with future-ready skills’. What’s more, apprenticeships can also play an important role in supporting social mobility. There’s little doubt that the education of young people has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, creating wider gaps between those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who are not. The Government, and businesses, must engage with youngsters from more disadvantaged backgrounds to highlight the different types of apprenticeships on offer, as well as promoting the benefits and opportunities they bring in the long-term.

It’s clear that ministers are also putting their money where their mouth is. Building on the momentum of the Apprenticeship Levy launched in 2017, the Government announced in last autumn’s Budget that funding for apprenticeships and the National Skills Fund (NSF) would increase.

Our recent Rethinking the Economy survey of 500 mid-sized businesses reiterated that apprenticeships form a vital part in how businesses intend to recover and grow in 2022 – not only by developing people’s skills, but also helping to close the skills gap across sectors, including manufacturing.

According to the survey, nearly a fifth of Midlands businesses intend to make hiring graduates and apprentices their number one investment priority over the coming months. However, on the flip side, the latest data shows us that more than a quarter (26%) of manufacturers also believe that a shortage of apprentices will be one of their top issues in regard to staffing in 2022.

Despite a focus on apprenticeships from the Government as a way to upskill the country’s workforce across all sectors,?there are still many misconceptions around apprenticeships, particularly from young people themselves.?

BDO’s own survey of 1,000 young people between 16-21 revealed that more than half (57%) agreed that a university degree creates more job opportunities than an apprenticeship and more than a third (34%) believe going?to university is the only route to achieving the most highly paid jobs. Almost half (44%) of young people surveyed by BDO believe that apprenticeships are more suited to those who don’t get the grades for university

While there is still some work to be done around apprenticeships, the theme of ‘Build a Future’ has even greater resonance for me and, in particular, within the regional manufacturing sector. At the end of last year, we launched our ‘Future of Manufacturing’ campaign, designed to recognise those individuals who are making a real difference, not only to the business they work for, but the regional marketplace as a whole.

While the focus is not about apprenticeships, it’s the very idea of future and, more importantly, our future workforce, that aligns the two campaigns together. Within the sector, there’s a wealth of young talent that is making a real difference to the Midlands manufacturing scene and it’s that cohort which will shape the future of the marketplace and help steer the industry out of the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our recent interview https://www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/rethinking-the-regions/regions/midlands/future-of-manufacturing with Zelika Clarke at Park Sheet Metal, demonstrated the fresh and dynamic ideas that the ‘future of manufacturing’ can bring to the table. They are key to its success and without training, investment and a commitment to the likes of apprenticeships and graduate schemes, we’re unlikely to ‘build a future’.

If you’d like to nominate someone for our ‘Future of Manufacturing’ initiative, simply visit https://www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/rethinking-the-regions/regions/midlands/future-of-manufacturing for more information.?